How to Prep Wool Diaper Covers in 10 Minutes

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Wool can be scary to a lot of people; me included. It took me years to try wool because it seemed hard to care for and, quite frankly, a little gross. You only wash it once a month?! Yuck! I just didn’t get it. Then my son became an older toddler and regular covers weren’t always cutting it so I tried it and I loved it!

Then my son became an older toddler and regular covers weren’t always cutting it. So I bit the bullet and tried it. Much to my surprise, I loved it and was happy to find that it really isn’t hard to care for at all! Even washing wool can be pretty easy. 

One of the questions I see fairly often in cloth diaper circles is how to prep wool. I won’t lie, this seemed like so much work to me when I was first starting out. But I am going to show you how easy it really is and that it only takes about ten minutes.

Are you ready to conquer your fear of wool?

How to prep wool diaper covers

The other day I received this beautiful navy blue Disana wool cover in the mail and now it’s time to prep it. 

I like to use liquid wool wash because it already has lanolin in it and it smells divine but any wool wash with lanolin will do. Some people prefer to prep wool with a separate wool wash and lanolin. I did that the first time and my cover still has spots from the lanolin so I haven’t done that since. I admit that I may have made a mistake but this is easier for me and it works so there’s no need for me to get more complicated with it. 

Fill a bowl or your sink with cool or tepid water and add a squirt of wool wash. You don’t need much, about the size of a dime (at most) works for me. 

Put your wool cover in the water inside out and let it soak for about ten minutes. (some brands may recommend soaking for longer to lanolize but it is no more difficult than these directions, you’ll just spend a little more than 10 minutes).

After your wool has soaked, remove it from the water and very gently squeeze the excess water out. DO NOT WRING IT OUT!

Once the cover is no longer dripping wet, lay it flat on a towel then roll it up, gently pressing the water out as you roll it. Then let it dry flat on a rack or on top of a towel if you don’t have a rack. 

That’s it! You’ve just prepped your wool diaper cover. Now that wasn’t so bad, was it? For general washing and upkeep, I like to keep a wool wash bar and spray lanolin on hand. 

Remember, you don’t need to wash your wool cover until it starts to smell after its dried or you start to feel dampness on the outside. I little spritz of lanolin can refresh it and make it waterproof again, but if not it’s time to wash your cover.

You can wash it very similarly to these prepping directions but with a little more vigorous swishing in the water, or you can do it the really easy way as I do. Just don’t accidentally wash it in your regular laundry because that may or may not be the reason that I bought this new wool cover.